When the Sky Spins
by erskine exposed
Summary: A drabble/oneshot collection of nejiten. Four: Just because my wife asked me not to do it, didn’t mean I couldn’t.
1. In Memoriam

I do not own Naruto or In Memoriam A.H.H. by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

_This turned out a little differently than I was thinking, but I still like it. It's a little weird, and in an abstract way in honor of Memorial Day. _

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Title: In Memoriam

Theme: 16, shattered glass in his eyes (tainted4life on lj)

Characters: Neji, Tenten

Summary: I know it hurts, but someday, I hope you see that remembering him doesn't mean you have to be in pain.

_So runs my dream, but what am I?_

_An infant crying in the night_

_An infant crying for the light_

_And with no language but a cry._

~Alfred, Lord Tennyson

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His life had once been a spun glass globe; while he could see the world beyond himself, he had no wish to know it intimately. But, like glass, it took only one moment to break.

He lived his life without the ability to see beyond that shattered glass. Nothing could possibly begin to rebuild the truths he'd once believed in. For him, life was no commodity, but rather only something to deal with before the inevitability of death.

She had never been disillusioned, mostly because she had never had the fairy tale to live in. Her life had broken more than once, but each time she rose from the ashes to continue on.

She lived each day trying to see a future where she could become the best. She needed to build a reality all her own, since no one had done it for her. For her, life was the adventure, not death as some said.

He saw it in her and craved. She saw it in him and worried. Sometimes he descended so deep, she worried if he'd be able to find his way back.

Finally, she could take it no longer, "I know it hurts, but someday, I hope you see that remembering him doesn't mean you have to be in pain."

He looked at her, barely comprehending what she had said. Instead he was lost in his past, unable to answer.

Her soul sunk, knowing that silence would stretch between them forever as he remembered.

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_Let me know what you thought, leave a review!_

_erskine exposed_


	2. A Step Ahead

Title: A Step Ahead

Theme: 8, multiples of eight; trigram (tainted4life on livejournal)

Characters: Neji, Tenten

Summary: Through all the years, she was always a step ahead of him.

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**Age Eight**

They are both in the academy, first and second in the class, respectively. He was reserved, the idol of the class, where she was determined, seeking recognition that was never given.

The boy's test scores were always unparalleled. Whether it was hand-to-hand, or memorization of the Shinobi Rules, there was no way the girl could compare. But, she persevered, staying up late into the night to practice her forms, and commit the answers to her memory.

However, the many sleepless nights soon took their toll on the young child. She could barely remain conscious in class, but her pride battled her nearly overwhelming fatigue, forcing more information into her mind. Finally, the girl didn't show up for school one day. She had never been gone before, and so the teacher worried, but decided not to comment. When she was gone a second and third day, he finally decided to send someone to check up on her.

The taciturn boy stood outside the doorway of an apartment he had never seen before, and hoped he would never see again. He did not understand why the teacher had assigned him of all people to check on some sick girl. It was decided: he would knock, hand over the homework, and leave with the least amount of interaction.

Just as he raised his fist, the door swung open, revealing his classmate. She glared up at him, her arms folded across her wraith-like body. Ink was smudged across her cheek and splattered her fingers, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Can I help you?" she queried, hostility barely edging her polite words.

He pretended not to be caught off-guard and answered, "Sensei sent me with your schoolwork." He held out the stack of papers for her inspection.

Slowly, one arm uncurled from her body and she warily took them from his grasp. She studied the pages silently, seeming to forget about the boy before her. He had never felt quite so invisible in his life, and wasn't sure how to respond. When she gave no indication of acknowledging him, he turned to leave. He was twenty feet away when he heard her voice ring out.

"Thank you." He turned, but she was already enclosed in her apartment.

**Age Sixteen**

The two had long been considered adults. They killed their first enemies in the field at fourteen, and executed their first assassination only five months later. Really, they had been adults since graduation, the day that bound them together for life.

But while their minds had been honed into those of cold-blooded killers, their spirits were still those of children. However, he was often better at hiding it than she.

She scampered about the booths and stalls, her sky blue yukata boldly weaving through the crowd. He was dressed in more subdued tones, and similarly followed at a sedate pace. They had finally been given a break in the relentless flow of missions and bloodshed. Since they were home, she insisted they attend Konoha's summer festival, something she hadn't done since she was a genin.

She was stopped at a game stall, and was looking with wonder at the fish circling in the small trough before her. "You know this game is rigged, don't you?" he asked when she made no move to continue on.

She glanced up at him, her eyes a little darker than they were before. "Of course I know. I'm not a child."

He may have smirked, but she didn't see as she had already moved along, her eye caught by a food stand.

**Age 24**

She had finally grown into her role in society. As a kunoichi, she was deadly, but had to simultaneously seem unthreatening. She had long ago come to the conclusion that she was much better at the deadly aspect of her job description.

However, when she slept, her hair tangled with his, he thought that she was so peaceful, so unlike the weapon she was. He twined his fingers among hers, relishing in the warmth he drew from them. The heady smoothness of her skin was his drug, more effective than anything he'd ever been exposed to.

It was not the first time they'd done this, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he dreaded that it would be the last. He would leave on a mission, and although it was no harder than others he'd completed before, there was a stone that had been growing in his stomach. Rather than focus on his fears though, he wrapped the woman in his arms closer to his chest, promising that she wouldn't get ahead of him this time.

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_Thanks for reading!_

_erskine exposed_


	3. One

_Well, I'm not entirely sure if I really like the way this turned out. I imagined it so differently in my head. But, all in all, I'm relatively pleased. Sorry it's so short though. Enjoy!_

_And to be safe, I do not own Naruto. That applies to the previous chapters as well. _

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Title: One

Theme: 10, she and the fire and the flower are not three

Summary: By force of habit, Tenten had learned to follow mission leaders' orders without batting an eye. And when she didn't agree with those orders, she could surreptitiously undermine them.

Characters: Team Gai

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In the field, it was imperative for a kunoichi to trust in her team's ability. There wasn't time during a battle to worry about anything other than the enemy's movements. By force of habit, Tenten had learned to follow mission leaders' orders without batting an eye. And when she didn't agree with those orders, she could surreptitiously undermine them.

So, it was moments like these, when she was in the midst of an all out melee with her original teammates by her side, that she could unwind and let loose. She didn't have to consciously repress any worries she might have about her partners. Tenten just knew that they would be just fine.

Swiftly, she flitted through the treetops, circling the target's camp and waiting for the signal. She had finished laying traps on the ground should the trio of bandits decide to run when they realized their situation, taking Team Gai's objective with them. This would force them to chase after the band, but they had never once failed a mission.

At the appropriate time, a smoke bomb detonated and Tenten was moving before she could even think. Lee swirled into the clearing, green and orange clad legs scissoring through the air to clip one of the bandits across the cheek. Neji was facing off against the presumed leader while Tenten knocked the legs out from under the last who tried to catch the Hyuuga off guard.

They were supremely efficient. Decisively less bloody than most of their other missions, too. In mere minutes the bandits were tied up, relieved of their stolen goods and on the move to the nearest town to be dealt with.

The Konoha shinobi finished their task and began the trek home in silence, comfortable enough with the fact that they were again together.

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_Thanks for reading! Please review. _

_erskine exposed_


	4. Little Girl

_Hey guys, sorry for the long wait. Anyway, this one's a little different, and if I may say so, I think it's pretty cute. _

_Also, Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, not me._

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Title: Little Girl

Theme: 25, She is neither pink nor pale, / And she will never be all mine

Summary: Just because my wife asked me not to do it, didn't mean I couldn't.

Characters: Neji, Tenten and a Special Guest!

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I left my wife sleeping soundly in our bed, her breathing even, and hair splayed across our pillows. As I crossed the floor, I was careful to avoid the creakier of the floorboards. This wasn't because I was sneaking out of the room, I just preferred my wife to stay asleep as I left. I do _not _sneak.

However, once I reached the hallway, I had to hold back a sigh of relief, reminding myself that what I was doing was not _wrong_, per se. Just because my wife asked me not to do it, didn't mean I couldn't. No, I was a free man, and no kunoichi of a wife was going to stop me.

Yet, after I'd made it to the doorway of my destination, that didn't stop me from turning back to the closed door of our room. Once I was sure my wife was still sound asleep, I opened the door and slid inside.

The room was warm, but not uncomfortably so, and non-descript, though perhaps a little more colorful than is usually seen in the manor. However, it was not the room itself that drew me like moth to flame, but the person inside.

She, too, was cut of more vibrant cloth than the average Hyuuga. Though I suspected that had something to do with her mother. Though she had the white eyes of the Byakugan, there was something more there. A curiosity and glee that had never graced my eyes was clearly evident in hers.

I reached down to stroke her smooth forehead and thanked the gods that I would never have to see her brow marked like my mine. But, despite my best intentions, her eyelids began to flutter, a sure sign that she was waking up.

"No, no, no, no! Shh, back to sleep!" I whispered frantically, not wanting to be caught. Instead, she opened her eyes, looked at who was leaning over her—me—and began wailing like I was about to strangle her. And I might have, too, had I not been interrupted by my sleep-tousled wife.

"Neji, darling, love of my life," she began and I knew I was in trouble. "How many times have I asked you not to sneak over here in the middle of the night and wake the baby?"

I was offended by the use of the word "sneak" but decided to pursue that at a later time, perhaps when my daughter wasn't doing her best to pop my eardrum. "I think she's missing her mother," I offered weakly.

Tenten rolled her eyes and glided across the floor to pick up the bundle of sobbing infant. Within seconds, her crying had ceased, and I had to wonder if the girl didn't know how much trouble she gets me into.

"C'mon, daddy, back to bed with us," stated my wife as she pulled us back to our room. I kissed the top of her head, content that we had created a perfect daughter.

That is, until the screaming started up again.

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_Thanks for reading! Questions, comments, concerns? I can't recall the product, but let me know and leave a review!_

_erskine exposed_


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